Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch could be ‘end of March or early April’ at a UK venue and says Brit will visit American trainers AGAIN in December

Eddie Hearn told talkSPORT he expects Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk to take place around the ‘end of March, early April’ and hopes it will be in the UK.

Joshua and his team invoked an immediate rematch clause following on from a lopsided decision defeat to Usyk, who left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the WBA, WBO and IBF world titles.

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The Brit has since been exploring options with regards to his coaching team and could well make additions after visiting several American trainers, like Eddy Reynoso, Virgil Hunter and Ronnie Shields.

Although Rob McCracken remains in sole charge of the two-time heavyweight champion, Hearn believes Joshua will visit the States before the end of the year before making a decision.

It will likely leave the 32-year-old with around three to four months to work with any potential new head coach, with the promoter revealing talks will begin around December-time.

“I think [the rematch] will be realistically end of March, early April,” Hearn told talkSPORT.

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“Both guys are probably resting, although AJ will be doing a bit more preparation because he wants to get it right.

“There was a well-documented trip to America, just to look really, look, learn and see. I think he will go back out there towards the end of the year.

“We will start talking to Team Usyk over the next couple of weeks and pin down the venue.”

While there is a deadline to finalise terms for the rematch, Hearn insisted it would not be necessary and that a British venue would once again be looked at following the roaring success of hosting the first fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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“It will be probably early summer,” Hearn said about a deadline. “But we are not looking to run it that late.

“Sort of late spring is more realistic. We will speak to Alex Krassyuk and the team to nail down a potential venue for that fight.

“I would like it back in the UK,” he added. “There are other options.

“We have had approaches to stage that fight around the world, but last time out was a massive spectacle and, obviously, this time is a much bigger fight.”